TWEWY Time Loops
by Natsumiya Teirin
Summary: Neku's pretty sure he's been in this exact situation before... TWEWY time loops inspired by Saphroneth's MLP Time Loops. Submit ideas either in reviews, PMs, or on the Spacebattles Creative Writing TWEWY Time Loop Archive forum thread.
1. Chapter 1

**1.1**

Something was definitely off here.

The first time he'd repeated The Game, he'd just assumed the time before had been some weird and oddly specific nightmare.

The second time, he'd chalked it up to some interference on the part of the Angels. Maybe the first run was invalid, so he had to do it again.

Or something.

But this was his fourth run-through of that hellish month, and he liked to think he'd memorized the pattern of events. This was tested by the beginning of the first week.

"Hm? You're not Reapers, so...Players, then."

From her place beside Joshua, Rhyme just smiled.

Neku furrowed his brow in confusion. If Joshua was with Rhyme, then...where was Beat?

XxX

In his RG form, the Composer sighed and silently begged His proxy to get a move on.

"C'mon Phones! Start haulin' ass! You don't have time to be makin' friends!" Beat urged. But because this was Shibuya and Shibuya was always crowded, Neku didn't hear him.

Of course.

 **1.2**

"Rhyme's price is her dreams. And yours...is her innocence."

"Yo! What the hell did you do to Rhyme!?"

"Nii-chan..."

"Rhyme!"

Beat growled at Kitaniji and prepared to attack him. The Conductor smirked, amused.

From his place in the white void (apparently they'd all died together) Neku facepalmed.

"Calm down, Beat. She'll get it back if you win the Game." _Even though something like that shouldn't even be possible..._

"Nii-chan..."

Beat looked down at Rhyme, who'd grabbed his arm.

She continued speaking:

"It doesn't matter. We are being watched by an uncaring god who is neither benevolent nor malicious, and whether we win this or not, we are all, as humans, destined to die and disappear from existence anyway. This is a universal truth, and no divine gamble or overpowered proxy can change that, and furthermore, regardless of His intentions, the Composer is fickle, and could bring the innocently ignorant "Rhyme" back on a whim. But for now, she is sleeping, and will wither away into a permanent state of unbeing if you choose to attack this man, His puppet."

Finally, she stopped talking, leaving Beat to stare blankly at her. Once more, Neku facepalmed.

 **1.3**

Neku Awoke to a noticeable weight on his chest. He looked down.

Huh. That was new.

He shrugged his shoulders. Apart from having been born a girl, and aptly named Neru instead of Neku, his Loop memories were exactly the same as baseline. It'd be interesting to see how this played out.

Shiki would have a field day.

 **1.4**

He Awoke in a white, sparsely furnished room, wearing equally white clothes. Hung on the wall across from him was a clipboard. Curious, he got up from his chair and read it.

 _ **Patient Name:**_ _Neku Sakuraba_

 _ **Status:**_ _Yellow_

 _ **Behaviour:**_ _Patient is nonviolent and experiences hallucinations. Patient has given these hallucinations names; "Joshua", "Shiki", "Beat", and "Rhyme". Patient refuses to interact with other patients and reluctantly interacts with staff. Patient is relatively agreeable and readily complies with medication._

 _ **Recommended Treatment:**_ _30mg olanzapine daily, group therapy and other social activities._

 _ **Possible Incentives:**_ _drawing, music, time outdoors._

 _ **Miscellaneous:**_ _Patient responds best to Dr. Hanekoma. Patient is significantly more hostile to Dr. Kitaniji. Minimal supervision._

 **1.5**

 **Hachibuya**

"Hey, Neku-hachi?"

"Yeah, Mitsu-shiki?"

"Why are we all bees?"

The two bees looked down from their honeycomb perches at Buzz (Beat) and Stripe (Rhyme) as they flew low along the bottom of the hive.

"...I have no idea..."

 **1.6**

Neku tilted his head back and stared upwards. And then stared some more. And kept staring.

Giant white eyes stared down at him- or rather, at the sprawling city at the giant plush cat's feet.

"And this is Mr. Mew!" An Unawake Shiki explained, either oblivious to or else ignoring Neku's blatant staring. "Isn't he cute? He's my Psyche!"

Neku decided not to say anything lest he incur the wrath of the 50-meter cat.

 **1.7**

Neku bounced back effortlessly off the power line and through the rooftop of a nearby house. From her place in the living room, Shiki looked up.

"Wow. I didn't think you'd crash in like that."

Neku brushed some debris off his shoulder and gave a wry smile.

"Neither did I. But this is actually kinda fun, breezing through things that should at least maim us."

"Guess so."

 **1.8**

"Josh..."

"Yes Neku?"

"I'm only asking this once; _why_ are we giant floating blimps?"

"I don't know, dear," the pale blue spiked-blimp-thing sighed (with a mouth that apparently worked?), "but it doesn't look like there's anything to do here. Wanna end this Loop?"

"Eh. May as well."

And so they floated, drifting along the cloudy abyss all by themselves. It was empty and lonely and it didn't get any better or less depressing until the two blimps finally managed to impale themselves on each other's spikes.

 **1.9**

"Neku Sakuraba...your price..."

Neku tuned Kitaniji out- he knew how this spiel would go- could quote it verbatim, even- from his thousands of Loops of ohgodwhatdidthatjerkjustsay?

"Umm...can you repeat that...?"

"Your collection of Pokemon cards."

 _Elsewhere..._

Joshua stuck his tongue out at Harajuku as the other Composer played a Shinx.

"You'll have to do better than that, dear," he said, putting down a Liligant.

He'd need to do something good to thank Neku for giving him the keys to the annual Composer Pokemon Tourney.

 **1.10**

Neku Awoke and waited for his Loop memories to set in.

"Huh. Guess I'm replacing Mr. H this time. Should be interesting."

And then the memories sunk in.

Being at a lower power level than the Composer- ok, he could live with that. That Shiki was acting like his baseline self and somehow got paired up with Rhyme- a bit unusual, but workable. Being part of some High Plane conspiracy to overthrow all the Composers ever and strip the Players of their free will, thus controlling the world via "benevolent" brainwashing?

Yeah...screw that.

He ascended to Composer status (courtesy of a few loops where he'd replaced Josh) and from there raised his frequency to that of the Higher Plane. A few Jesus-beams ought to set things straight.


	2. Chapter 2

2.1

XxX

Shiki woke up with a smile on her face. Somehow, they'd won the Game. It'd been about a week since then, meaning it was now October 21st. Today she had plans to meet with Neku, Rhyme, Beat, and Eri at Hachiko so they could finalize their plans for Halloween.

"Shiki!" Her mom pounded against her bedroom door. "Get up! You're running late!"

"Huh!?" She bolted upright and looked at her alarm clock (which helpfully displayed the time as well as the date). It read 7:40...September 23rd. But...wait...that was...

Wasn't that the day she'd entered the Game the first time?

"EEEEEEEEHHHHH!?"

XxX

School passed by uneventfully, though Shiki thought it odd that Eri was avoiding her for...some reason. She was going to confront her about it after class had ended for the day, but she ran off before she could. And...

Why was _Neku_ standing outside the school gate?

"Hey. Got a sec?" He asked as she passed him. She turned and nodded.

XxX

"Hey, Shiki...this is gonna sound crazy, but...what's the last thing you remember from before you woke up today?"

They were sitting right outside WildKat. It was empty, as usual.

"Umm...we'd agreed to meet at Hachiko so we could talk about Halloween...I tried to bring it up with Eri earlier today, but she hasn't been talking to me for some reason, and the date's suddenly changed backwards."

Neku nodded his head.

"Thought so," he muttered. Then, louder, he said, "You're looping. Basically, we- you and me so far- are gonna be repeating the same month over and over again, for who knows how long. And eventually, maybe other people will start looping, too."

"Oh. Okay then. But...why?"

He sighed and lifted a hand to massage his temple.

"See, there's this tree called Yggdrasil..."

XxX

2.2

The door to WildKat swung open as a haggard Neku leaned into it.

"Hey Mr. H, gimme something strong, please."

Sanae reached down to grab a mug from a lower cabinet. "Rough loop, boss?"

Neku nodded as he slumped down into a chair.

"Yeah. That's one way to put it..."

"I'll fix ya somethin hot then. Just got some beans from Paraguay. How about you tell me what happened while I get brewing?"

"...alright. So, you know how in baseline, you have to keep shopping at different places if you want those respective clerks to like you?"

"Yeah..."

"In this last loop, by default, everyone already liked me. And that's not normally too bad, but..."

"But..?" Sanae pressed, setting a steaming mug on the low table in front of the young teen.

"...Masuoka. Just...Masuoka."

"Oof. That's rough."

He knew what Masuoka was like at a base friendship level- creepy even when Neku only came to Jupiter of the Monkey once- so he could only imagine what he was like in that kind of loop where his affinity for Neku was maxed out from the start.

"...I think you need a break this loop. J's Awake, so I'll fill him in. You can just chill out here."

Neku downed his coffee in one swig, welcoming the burn of the hot liquid down his throat.

"Thanks, Mr. H."

XxX

2.3

Neku, Shiki, Beat, and Rhyme met up at the Station Underpass just like in baseline and huddled up in a secluded corner near the Moai.

"So, what's the plan this time?" Shiki asked.

"I was thinking a vacation sounds kinda nice," Neku answered.

"But we can't leave Shibuya," Rhyme pointed out with a frown.

"Hmmmm..."

Shiki snapped her fingers and pulled a single disk from her subspace pocket.

"There's a stereo system in the Dead God's Pad, right?"

Neku nodded.

"And it has a loop feature, right?"

Another nod.

"I like where this is going..."

XxX

 _It's a small world after all,_

 _It's a small world after all,_

 _It's a small world after all,_

 _It's a small, small world._

In his RG form, Joshua tried desperately to plug his ears, but to no avail. The damned song seeped through the earplugs and all the way to his brain. And it would! Not! Stop!

He'd tried to blast the sound system apart already, but apparently whichever entity had constructed the place had the foresight to bolt all the hefty items (like the comically oversized sound system) to the floor _and_ put up fields wherein those hefty items would be completely immune to the Composer's rage.

Safely under a total concealment spell, Neku, Beat, Rhyme, and Shiki shared identical grins as they watched Joshua try again to destroy his own sound system.

That'll teach Him to confine them solely to Shibuya.

XxX

2.4

 _Smash!_

"RUN! IT'S GODZILLA!"

Neku stared. Shiki stared at him.

"...I guess being in Japan, this was bound to come up sooner or later..." she said with a sigh.

Mr. Mew twitched in her arms.

"So...should we take care of it..?"

Neku snapped back to reality, his hand tightening around his pyrokinesis pin.

"Yeah, okay."

XxX

2.5

"Wht hppnd t ll th vwls ths lp?" Nk skd wth sm dffclty.

"Tht's gd qstn..." Shk grd. "Mybe Jsh knws?"

Nk shk hs hd. "N. H sn't wk."

"...wll fck."

XxX

2.6

"Mama, wake up!"

Shiki groaned and pulled the covers tighter around herself.

"Jus' five more minutes Neku..." she slurred.

Then she bolted upright as her Loop memories sunk in. She _really_ didn't want those memories of _childbirth_ , especially when they came with her being a single mom this loop.

"Mama! I'm hungry! And you said I can play with JJ today!"

"...ugh..."

XxX

"Well, this was unexpected..." Rhyme said, sipping daintily from her teacup.

Shiki nodded her head, looking off to where their children (this Loop) were playing Tag in the backyard.

An unawake Kitaniji smiled thinly. "Yes. My Joshua appears to be quite mature, even compared to his...younger acquaintances."

Neither Rhyme nor Shiki could deny this- when it came to Beat, anyway (and Rhyme had definitely taken pictures of her brother-turned-son for future blackmail)- but at the same time, they didn't miss how the small ten year old only ever chased after the seven year old Neku rather than the six (going on seven) year old Beat. It reminded Shiki of that thing her own mother used to say- about boys pulling pigtails to show affection towards girls they liked.

Abruptly, the doorbell rang. Kitaniji got up with a flat expression. "Pardon me, ladies- I really must see to this unexpected guest."

Given that he was still dressed in a full suit on a Sunday afternoon, Shiki was somewhat inclined to believe he was some sort of gangster this loop, but still...

"Who'd have thought _Kitaniji Megumi_ would be such a doting parent?" She asked with a small chuckle.

XxX

2.7

"WELCOME TO SHIBUYA'S THIRD ANNUAL FLO-MOTION RACE! I'M YOUR MC COCO-' The audience erupted into a thunderous applause. "-AND WITH ME ARE OUR CONTESTANTS!"

Six figures casually strode onto the track, and Coco introduced them one by one.

"FIRST IS OUR REIGNING CHAMPION, WITH MOVES SO SMOOTH HE MAY AS WELL BE MADE OF MARBLE- IT'S KIRYUU YOSHIYA!"

Joshua locked eyes with Coco and winked, then blew a kiss to his fans in the audience. This would be a fun loop.

XxX

2.8

 _ **So You're Time Looping**_

 _ **A short guide, by Twilight Sparkle.**_

 _ **Hello!**_

 _ **Welcome to the wider universe. If you've just been given this short booklet, then either you're in a world you don't recognize, or someone you don't know is taking the place of someone you do. Don't worry, this is entirely normal, and you should be back to the world you're familiar with next time around.**_

 _ **This booklet is intended to make you, the reader and newly contacted looper, familiar with the terms that more experienced loopers use. It will also let you know what you can expect in the future, and a little about why.**_

 _ **Loop (noun)**_

 _ **This is each individual time that you go back in time. So each time you wake up back in time, you're in a new Loop. The term is also used to refer to separate worlds – so I, for example, am from the Equestria Loop. Loops have a usual start point and a usual end point, but neither is guaranteed. End points are more likely to be the same loop-to-loop than start points.**_

 _ **Looping (verb)**_

 _ **The process of going back in time, and the process of turning up in a new loop. So I occasionally Loop into the world known as Berk, and I am said to be "Looping into" Berk. I have Looped in the past; I am a Looper; you are also a Looper.**_

 _ **Yggdrasil (proper noun)**_

 _ **Yggdrasil is the tree that is the multiverse. All loops are, to extend an analogy, 'branches' of Yggdrasil. It has recently suffered severe damage, though the situation is contained. That's why the loops happen.**_

 _ **Awake (noun; verb)**_

 _ **To be Awake is to have memories of having gone back in time; that is, to have Looped this time. Sometimes people Awaken before or after the time that everyone else does – my friend Princess Celestia, for example, sometimes Awakens nearly a thousand years in the past from when I Awaken. You have to be a looper to be Awake, but not all Loopers are Awake every time.**_

 _ **Anchor (noun)**_

 _ **Almost every known Loop has at least one Anchor. The Anchor is (one of) the first to start looping in a given Loop. I am an Anchor, for example. The Anchor for a given loop is easy to work out – they're the one who's always Awake. (Well, almost always.) They're the one who's able to be the only one Awake. So, sometimes I'm Awake and none of my friends are.**_

 _ **The death of the last present Anchor within a certain period tends to instantly end the loop.**_

 _ **Replace (verb)**_

 _ **To take the place normally occupied by another individual, looping or not. This includes if you have swapped places with a friend, for example, though it is normally used when the place you are occupying is in another loop.**_

 _ **Fused loop (noun)**_

 _ **The term "Fused" loop is somewhat fluid. The more general meaning is that it is any iteration of a loop where elements from more than one world – looping or not – are present. So, for example, a world where my world and yours were mixed together might mean that I'm there. It might mean that everyone was ponies. Or it might just mean that there's a few of my fellow Equestrian loopers there, as humans.**_

 _ **The more specific meaning is the middle one – where there are things other than loopers from both worlds. Or from all three, or more.**_

 _ **Baseline (noun)**_

 _ **The events of the first run-through of a loop, and the events that tend to result with no outside interference. If, for example, your home loop had none of its loopers awake, and I was a million light years away and never got any closer, then the events back at your home region would be baseline.**_

 _ **Admin (noun)**_

 _ **The admins are the deities who run Yggdrasil and who are working to fix it. If you meet them directly, there are a few things to remember. First, they spend a substantial fraction of their existences working to keep you alive, so allow for that. Second, they are essentially gods of a power beyond anything you have. Yes, that includes you. And third, they do care for the worlds they run – try to stay on their good side. It's just common courtesy.**_

 _ **Sakura Syndrome (noun)**_

 _ **Named after the unfortunate Sakura Haruno, who was the first documented case. Loopers with a case of Sakura Syndrome tend to focus on the fact that things are returned to their original state when a loop restarts, and begin to use this to their advantage. The stricter definition is that they begin behaving like this to fellow loopers – who are not reset in this manner – while the less strict definition is simply that they exploit the loops to mistreat non-looping individuals.**_

 _ **People with this problem tend to come about because they have become bored or apathetic as a result of the loops, and turn to one means or another to enjoy themselves. This becomes gradually more extreme over time. The process is not inevitable, but care should be taken.**_

 _ **Sufferers of Sakura Syndrome are unfortunate. They are also potentially dangerous, and as a new looper I cannot guarantee your safety near them.**_

 _ **Setsuna Syndrome (noun).**_

 _ **The opposite of Sakura Syndrome, named for Setsuna Meiou. This is the case when a Looper comes to believe that the events of the baseline are sacrosanct and must not be interfered with.**_

 _ **This is especially dangerous – and risky, both for the sufferer and for others – when they are not the only one Awake. Sufferers of Setsuna Syndrome may get violent to preserve what they see as the true timeline, and they can easily bite off more than they can chew.**_

 _ **Setsuna Syndrome, unlike Sakura Syndrome, has a known and reliable solution in that it results from a simple misconception. Admins can help to talk sufferers around if other measures have not sufficed.**_

 _ **Subspace Pocket (noun)**_

 _ **An ability most loopers eventually develop. This consists of setting up a storage space inside one's soul, into which objects may be placed. The size of the pocket grows with time and with your own personal discipline and power. These objects are carried between loops, which is of course very useful.**_

 _ **Punishment Loop (noun)**_

 _ **You may have had one of these already. Don't worry, we all do. They're bland, often embarrassing, and unpleasant to be in, you tend not to have access to most of your normal abilities, and you probably ended up there after doing something stupid which backfired spectacularly.**_

 _ **These are usually quite stable places, where you're put while the admins fix whatever you damaged. Just grin and bear it – trying to end a punishment loop early doesn't end well.**_

 _ **Eiken (proper noun)**_

 _ **The most common punishment loop.**_

 _ **Generation (noun, adjective)**_

 _ **Generations of loopers are essentially groups who started looping at about the same time. For example, I first started looping several thousand loops after the world of Berk, so I am technically from a younger generation than the Berk Anchor, Hiccup. But given how many loops there have been, we tend to be spoken of as being part of the same generation.**_

 _ **First Generation (noun)**_

 _ **The loopers who started looping first. All Anchors, all very powerful. Owing to calculation issues (they've all lost count), it is unclear whether there are five or seven. The broader definition is: Ranma Saotome, Shinji Ikari, Harry Potter, Naruto Uzumaki, Lina Inverse, Usagi Tsukino and Ichigo Kurosaki. (Evidence exists that Ichigo is younger, but evidence that he is the same generation also exists. Usagi, meanwhile, appears to have pretended that her friend Rei was the Anchor for a considerable time.)**_

 _ **Ping (noun, verb)**_

 _ **A combination of several different types of abilities that only somebody who had been to multiple universes could perform. You send a ping when you want to know if anybody else is Awake, and they (usually) ping back. However, you usually can't identify the source of a ping. Some Loops, such as my own, might have other ways of identifying Awake individuals. Like with the Subspace Pocket, you might want to ask the person who gave you this pamphlet about how to do this.**_

 _ **I hope that this booklet was helpful. If you ever find yourself in Equestria, then drop by for a chat. My name is Twilight Sparkle, I tend to be a unicorn and live in a library-tree, and the secret code phrase is 'Hi, I'm a visiting Looper'. I'd like to hear if there's anything that should be added to this booklet.**_

 _ **Good luck!**_

XxX

Shiki closed the booklet and looked at Eri.

"So, some girl named Yuyami Kirameki just told you to give this to me?"

Eri nodded slowly. "Yeah. Then she said, when you're done, to give it to a guy named Neku...any idea who that might be?"

Shiki shook her head even as a familiar face flashed through her head.

"Nope. No idea."

XxX

2.9 ( SomeSmallLegoBricks )

Neku stared across the lounge area of WildKat at his fellow Loopers.

"So. Shibuya's fixed now," he began, inclining his head towards Joshua, who'd figured out how to take care of it early on in the loops, "but the higher-ups don't know that yet." His eyes took on a mischievous glint.

"So, I think we can afford to mess with them a little. Who's in?"

Beat grinned. "Aw _hell yeah_ Phones! What's the plan?"

Neku looked meaningfully at Mr. H.

"First, we need a way to rearrange the walls..."

XxX

Uzuki growled and banged her fists against the high level wall separating her and Koki from the Hachiko statue all the Players seemed to love meeting at. Predictably, the recoil sent her jumping back with an angry hiss.

"AAARRRRGGGGHHHH! LET ME THROUGH DAMN IT!"

Koki sighed, used to his partner's short fuse, and resolved to wait it out.

2.10

The café was mostly silent, save for the gentle squeak of a washcloth against glass and the light sipping of tea. Sanae eyed his guest thoughtfully as he emptied his mug.

"Ah! Nothing like a good pot to get the old thinker going, wot wot! Mmm and your cakes- truly scrumptious, old chap! I say the folks of the abbey could learn a thing or two!"

And with that, Basil Stag Hare left three gold coins on the counter and bounced out the door.

A very strange Looper, indeed...

 **2.1:** Shiki and the Loops!

 **2.2:** Friendship level? _More-than-friendship_ level.

 **2.3:** It's a small world, after all.

 **2.4:** Obligatory Godzilla reference- because Japan.

 **2.5:** Vowels, yo.

 **2.6:** Considering how Kitaniji acts in baseline, is anyone really surprised?

 **2.7:** Flo-mo.

 **2.8:** Now with instructions! Courtesy of Twilight Sparkle/Yuyami Kirameki from Saphroneth's MLP Loops.

 **2.9:** Metaphorical and literal walls.

 **2.10:** Redwall fused Loop ft. Basil Stag Hare of Salamandastron's Long Patrol.


End file.
